barbara hepworth • art & life

I was delighted to visit the latest exhibition at Tate, St. Ives on a recent trip back to Cornwall. Growing up on this wild peninsula I was aware of a great artistic heritage, of artists who claimed Cornwall as a creative and spiritual home. Barbara Hepworth is one of my favourite artists, and one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century; she moved to St. Ives in 1939 and stayed for the rest of her life. Working in both abstraction and figuration her sculptural work has always made me feel a sense of awe and connection, as I do when I am in the Cornish landscape.

This exhibition spans almost five decades of her work and I was surprised to see paintings, drawings and prints alongside sculptural works. I followed up this visit with an annual pilgrimage to her old studios and garden in the centre of town. An absolute haven - totemic monoliths and sinuous curved bronzes positioned within a Cornish sub tropical garden.

The Tate exhibitions runs until May 1st 2023.